Long-lasting repairs to stop potholes

Utility companies could be better held to account for poor road repairs that cause potholes or dangerous road surfaces.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has today (6 March 2019) launched a consultation on increasing the guarantee on utility firms’ roadworks, so that if a pothole forms as a result within 5 years, the company must return to bring the road surface back to normal.

The £22.9 million Live Labs projects will be delivered by councils – including Kent, Staffordshire, Reading, Suffolk and Solihull and Birmingham – and if successful, could be adopted by other authorities.

These schemes include expanding the test in Cumbria of plastic roads, using kinetic energy off Buckinghamshire roads to power lighting and using geothermal energy to keep car parks and in Central Bedfordshire bus stations from freezing over.

In the Budget in November, the Chancellor announced an additional £420 million for road maintenance for 2018 to 2019 financial year. This brings the total funding for pothole repair and roads maintenance up to £6.6 billion from 2015 to 2020.

The government is also investing up to £10 million in Street Manager. The data opened up by this new digital service should enable motorists to plan their journeys better, so they can avoid works and get to their destinations more easily.